W.House Delays Updated Budget Data Release-official

The White House will delay release of updated U.S. economic and budget projections until after a July 16 deadline because of ongoing deficit talks and other factors, an administration official said on Friday.

The White House's so-called midsession review includes revised estimates of the budget deficit as well as U.S. revenues and spending.

Unique changes to the budget calendar prompted the delay, the official said, citing the fact that Congress used short-term spending bills for months until it finally agreed a budget for fiscal 2011 halfway through the year.

"This has not been a normal year in terms of budgeting and appropriations," the official said.

Talks led by Vice President Joe Biden with Democratic and Republican lawmakers on long-term deficit reduction were also a factor, he said.

The official said delays of the report were not unprecedented -- it has been released after the legal deadline 16 times in the past 38 years, he said.

"These delays have little practical effect," the official said, adding that the report would come out "later in the summer."

The White House will delay release of updated U.S. economic and budget projections until after a July 16 deadline because of ongoing deficit talks and other factors, an administration official said on Friday.
The White House's so-called midsession review includes revised...